U.S. patent application number 13/593485 was filed with the patent office on 2013-02-28 for microtiter plate reader apparatus and dynamic filter storage.
This patent application is currently assigned to LABROX OY. The applicant listed for this patent is Pauli Salmelainen, Jukka Valtonen, Antero Yli-Koski. Invention is credited to Pauli Salmelainen, Jukka Valtonen, Antero Yli-Koski.
Application Number | 20130050705 13/593485 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44515455 |
Filed Date | 2013-02-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130050705 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yli-Koski; Antero ; et
al. |
February 28, 2013 |
MICROTITER PLATE READER APPARATUS AND DYNAMIC FILTER STORAGE
Abstract
An apparatus for optically measuring samples, including a
radiation source configured to form an excitation beam in an
excitation channel, a detector configured to detect an emission
beam in an emission channel and a filter configured to be located,
in an excitation position, in the excitation channel, and in an
emission position, in the emission channel. The apparatus further
includes a first filter storage comprising a first set of filter
storage positions, a second filter storage comprising a second set
of filter storage positions, and a filter transfer mechanism
configured to move the filter between the excitation position, the
emission position, the first set of filter storage positions and
the second set of filter storage positions.
Inventors: |
Yli-Koski; Antero; (Piikkio,
FI) ; Salmelainen; Pauli; (Masku, FI) ;
Valtonen; Jukka; (Lieto, FI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Yli-Koski; Antero
Salmelainen; Pauli
Valtonen; Jukka |
Piikkio
Masku
Lieto |
|
FI
FI
FI |
|
|
Assignee: |
LABROX OY
Turku
FI
|
Family ID: |
44515455 |
Appl. No.: |
13/593485 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
356/432 ;
250/226; 250/458.1; 414/754 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N 21/6445 20130101;
G01J 1/0488 20130101; G01J 1/0492 20130101; G01N 21/6408 20130101;
G01J 1/0444 20130101; G01N 21/645 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
356/432 ;
250/226; 250/458.1; 414/754 |
International
Class: |
G01J 1/04 20060101
G01J001/04; G01N 21/64 20060101 G01N021/64; B65G 49/00 20060101
B65G049/00; G01N 21/59 20060101 G01N021/59 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 24, 2011 |
FI |
20115822 |
Claims
1. A filter module for storing and moving a filter between a
storage position, an excitation position and an emission position;
the filter module comprising: a first filter storage comprising a
first set of filter storage positions; a second filter storage
comprising a second set of filter storage positions; and a filter
transfer mechanism configured to move the filter between the
excitation position, the emission position, the first set of filter
storage positions and the second set of filter storage
positions.
2. An apparatus for optically measuring samples, comprising: a
radiation source configured to form an excitation beam in an
excitation channel; a detector configured to detect an emission
beam in an emission channel; a filter configured to be located, in
an excitation position, in the excitation channel, and in an
emission position, in the emission channel; and a filter module for
storing and moving the filter between a storage position, the
excitation position and the emission position; the filter module
comprising: a first filter storage comprising a first set of filter
storage positions; a second filter storage comprising a second set
of filter storage positions; and a filter transfer mechanism
configured to move the filter between the excitation position, the
emission position, the first set of filter storage positions and
the second set of filter storage positions.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: at least one
processor; and at least one memory including computer program code,
the at least one memory and the computer program code being
configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus
at least to: store an association between optical information of
the filter and a position of the filter, wherein the position of
the filter being at least one of the following: the excitation
position, the emission position, the first set of filter storage
positions and the second set of filter storage positions.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and
the computer program code being configured to, with the at least
one processor, cause the apparatus further to: detect the movement
of the filter caused by the filter transfer mechanism; and update
the association between the optical information of the filter and
the position of the filter.
5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and
the computer program code being configured to, with the at least
one processor, cause the apparatus further to: provide information
on filters to a user of the apparatus; provide the user an option
to select the filter for at least one of the following: the
excitation position and the emission position; and move the filter,
using the filter transfer mechanism, between the excitation
position, the emission position, the first set of filter storage
positions and the second set of filter storage positions, based on
the user's selection.
6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first filter storage and
the second filter storage are positioned at least partially on the
excitation channel and the emission channel, respectively.
7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the excitation position is
configured to be a filter storage position of the first filter
storage.
8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the emission position is
configured to be a filter storage position of the second filter
storage.
9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second filter storage is
configured to store an exchange filter position.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the filter transfer mechanism
is further configured to move the filter between the exchange
filter position and the first set of filter storage positions.
11. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first filter storage and
the second filter storage are round-shaped.
12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first filter storage and
the second filter storage are slide-shaped.
13. The apparatus of 2, wherein the first filter storage and the
second filter storage are configured to be movable compared to the
radiation source and the detector.
14. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first filter storage is
positioned next to the second filter storage.
15. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first set
of filter storage positions and the second set of first filter
storage positions comprises an aperture configured to provide a
focal point to the measured sample.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least two filter storage
positions comprise apertures of different sizes configured to
provide alternative focal points to the measured sample.
17. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatus comprises a
microtiter plate reader and the measured samples are on a
microtiter plate.
18. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the sample is measured
utilizing at least one of the following technologies: fluorescence
intensity; absorbance; luminescence; time resolved fluorescence;
and fluorescence polarization.
19. A method for optically measuring samples, comprising: providing
a first set of filter storage positions in a first filter storage
of a filter module; providing a second set of filter storage
positions in a second filter storage of the filter module; moving
an excitation filter between first set of filter storage positions
and an excitation position using a filter transfer mechanism of the
filter module; moving an emission filter between second set of
filter storage positions and an emission position using a filter
transfer mechanism of the filter module; forming an excitation beam
in an excitation channel using a radiation source; filtering the
excitation beam in the excitation channel using the excitation
filter located in the excitation position; filtering an emission
beam in an emission channel using the emission filter located in
the emission position; and detecting the emission beam in the
emission channel using a detector.
20. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium
comprising computer executable program code which, when executed by
at least one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to
perform the method of claim 19.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention generally relates to an apparatus of a
microtiter plate reader. The invention relates particularly, though
not exclusively, to dynamic storing of filters for the microtiter
plate reader.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Presently, microtiter plate readers with separate filter
slides for excitation filters and emission filters are known.
Apparatuses for irradiating samples which can be characterized by
light penetrating the samples (transmission), the light reflected
by the samples (reflection), light initiated on or in the sample
(fluorescence) or light emitted by the samples themselves
(luminescence) have long been known as microscopes,
spectrophotometers, fluorometers and the like. The light that
penetrates the sample during the irradiation or is reflected by the
same or the fluorescence initiated on or in the sample will be
designated below as "light originating from the sample" and will be
measured for example by one or several photodetectors. The use of
different optical filters for influencing light rays with which the
samples are radiated or light that is transmitted through the same
(so-called excitation filters) is known. Similarly, emission
filters are known which influence the light emitted by the samples.
Especially user-friendly are filter slides which comprise at least
one such filter, but preferably several such optical filters, which
can be moved with a defined movement into the beam path.
SUMMARY
[0003] According to a first example aspect of the invention there
is provided an apparatus comprising: [0004] a radiation source
configured to form an excitation beam in an excitation channel;
[0005] a detector configured to detect an emission beam in an
emission channel; [0006] a filter configured to be located, in an
excitation position, in the excitation channel, and in an emission
position, in the emission channel; and [0007] a filter module for
storing and moving the filter between a storage position, the
excitation position and the emission position; [0008] the filter
module comprising: [0009] a first filter storage comprising a first
set of filter storage positions; [0010] a second filter storage
comprising a second set of filter storage positions; and [0011] a
filter transfer mechanism configured to move the filter between the
excitation position, the emission position, the first set of filter
storage positions and the second set of filter storage
positions.
[0012] The apparatus may be configured to store an association
between optical information of the filter and a position of the
filter, wherein the position of the filter being at least one of
the following: the excitation position, the emission position, the
first set of filter storage positions and the second set of filter
storage positions. Furthermore, the movement of the filter caused
by the filter transfer mechanism may be detected and the
association between the optical information of the filter and the
position of the filter may be updated.
[0013] In an embodiment, information on filters to a user of the
apparatus is provided and the user is provided an option to select
the filter for at least one of the following: the excitation
position and the emission position. The filter may be moved, using
the filter transfer mechanism, between the excitation position, the
emission position, the first set of filter storage positions and
the second set of filter storage positions, based on the user's
selection.
[0014] The first filter storage and the second filter storage may
be positioned at least partially on the excitation channel and the
emission channel, respectively. The excitation position may be
configured to be a filter storage position of the first filter
storage and the emission position may be configured to be a filter
storage position of the second filter storage. The second filter
storage may be configured to store an exchange filter position and
the filter transfer mechanism may be further configured to move the
filter between the exchange filter position and the first set of
filter storage positions. The first filter storage and the second
filter storage are round-shaped or slide-shaped, for example. The
first filter storage and the second filter storage may be
configured to be movable compared to the radiation source and the
detector.
[0015] In an embodiment, the first filter storage is positioned
next to the second filter storage. Furthermore, at least one of the
first set of filter storage positions and the second set of first
filter storage positions comprises an aperture configured to
provide a focal point to the measured sample. Still furthermore, at
least two filter storage positions comprise apertures of different
sizes configured to provide alternative focal points to the
measured sample. The apparatus may further comprise a microtiter
plate reader and the measured samples may be on a microtiter plate.
The sample is measured, for example, utilizing at least one of the
following technologies: [0016] fluorescence intensity; [0017]
absorbance; [0018] luminescence; [0019] time resolved fluorescence;
and [0020] fluorescence polarization.
[0021] According to a second example aspect there is provided a
method comprising: [0022] providing a first set of filter storage
positions in a first filter storage; [0023] providing a second set
of filter storage positions in a second filter storage; [0024]
moving the excitation filter and the emission filter between the
excitation position, the emission position, the first set of filter
storage positions and the second set of filter storage positions
[0025] forming an excitation beam in an excitation channel using a
radiation source; [0026] filtering the excitation beam in the
excitation channel using an excitation filter located in an
excitation position; [0027] filtering an emission beam in the
emission channel using an emission filter located in an emission
position; and [0028] detecting the emission beam in an emission
channel using a detector.
[0029] According to a third example aspect there is provided a
computer program embodied on a computer readable medium comprising
computer executable program code which, when executed by at least
one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform the
method of the second example aspect.
[0030] According to a fourth example aspect there is provided a
filter module for storing and moving a filter between a storage
position, an excitation position and an emission position, wherein
the filter module comprising: [0031] a first filter storage
comprising a first set of filter storage positions; [0032] a second
filter storage comprising a second set of filter storage positions;
and [0033] a filter transfer mechanism configured to move the
filter between the excitation position, the emission position, the
first set of filter storage positions and the second set of filter
storage positions.
[0034] Different non-binding example aspects and embodiments of the
present invention have been illustrated in the foregoing. The above
embodiments are used merely to explain selected aspects or steps
that may be utilized in implementations of the present invention.
Some embodiments may be presented only with reference to certain
example aspects of the invention. It should be appreciated that
corresponding embodiments may apply to other example aspects as
well.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] The invention will be described, by way of example only,
with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0036] FIG. 1 shows a schematic picture of a filter module an
apparatus according to an example embodiment of the invention;
[0037] FIG. 2 shows a schematic picture of a filter module of an
apparatus without a cover part according to an example embodiment
of the invention;
[0038] FIG. 3 shows a schematic picture of a filter module in a
more detailed position for a filter transfer mechanism according to
an example embodiment of the invention;
[0039] FIG. 4 presents an example block diagram of an apparatus in
which various embodiments of the invention may be applied; and
[0040] FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of a method in accordance with an
example embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0041] In the following description, like numbers denote like
elements.
[0042] An apparatus of a microtiter plate reader uses a set of
filters used for excitation and emission. In an embodiment of the
invention, the apparatus comprises at least one storage for the
filters and a mechanism to move the filters between the storage and
the operating positions for the excitation and the emission.
Furthermore, a computer system for controlling the filter operation
and exchange is provided. A user of the apparatus may be provided a
list of filters in the storage with their optical characteristics,
and based on the user's selections the computer system may control
the mechanism to operate the desired filters for the excitation and
the emission.
[0043] In an embodiment, the filter is an optical filter operating
on a band around a certain center wavelength of radiation, for
example light. Furthermore, high-pass and low-pass filters may be
used. The optical filter may be an interference filter, a colored
glass filter or a combination of both, for example. An excitation
filter may be used for bandpassing a certain center wavelength band
from the excitation radiation of a sample. An emission filter may
be used for bandpassing a certain center wavelength band from the
emission radiation of a sample.
[0044] In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises a filter storage
configured to store both excitation filters and emission filters.
Such filter storage may comprise two filter storages for storing
the filters and a filter transfer mechanism for moving the filters
between the two storages. At least one position in the first filter
storage may be configured to be an excitation position overlapping
at least partially an excitation channel of the apparatus. At least
one position in the second filter storage may be configured to be
an emission position overlapping at least partially an emission
channel of the apparatus. The filter transfer mechanism is
configured to move filters also from the excitation position to the
emission position, and vice versa, using the two filter storages.
The apparatus may further comprise an exchange position, through
which filters may be added and removed from the filter storage. The
computer system of the apparatus may control the addition and
removal of filters to the storage and keeps track of exact
positions of filters in the storage.
[0045] FIG. 1 shows a schematic picture of a filter module 100 of
an apparatus according to an example embodiment of the invention.
In this example, the apparatus is a microtiter plate reader. In
FIG. 1 the filter module 100 of the apparatus is shown in normal
operating position. The filter module 100 comprises at least one
cover part 110 covering at least partially a first and a second
filter storage (not shown). The filter module 100 may further
comprise a filter transfer mechanism 120 for transferring filters
in the storage and to/from the storage. The filter module 100 may
further comprise a motor 130 for moving the first filter storage
and a motor 140 for moving the second filter storage. The motors
may move the filter storages for example using a belt or a
gearwheel. Furthermore, an exchange aperture 150 is provided in the
cover part 110. Using the exchange aperture 150, a user of the
apparatus may insert and remove filters to/from the filter storage
of the filter module 100. The cover part 110 may also comprise at
least one beam aperture 160 for allowing a radiation beam to pass
through at least partially the filter storage of the filter module
100. The radiation beam may be for example an excitation beam or an
emission beam for measuring a sample of a microtiter plate. The
filter storage of the filter module 100 may thus at least partially
overlap an excitation channel for the excitation beam or an
emission channel for the emission beam. Rollers or running wheels
170 may be used to assist in moving and driving the filter
storages.
[0046] FIG. 2 shows a schematic picture of a filter module 100 of
an apparatus without a cover part according to an example
embodiment of the invention. The filter module 100 may comprise at
least two filter storages with a round shape, for example a
circular shape. A first filter storage 210 is placed in the inner
circle and may by default comprise the excitation filters, for
example. A second filter storage 220 is placed in the outer circle
and may by default comprise the emission filters, for example. The
first and second filter storages may rotate in view of each other
so that filters may be moved from the first storage to the second,
and vice versa. The first and the second filter storages are
rotated in view of each other for a desired position, where desired
storage positions are opposite to each other. The filter transfer
mechanism 120 may then move the filter from a filter storage
position to another. Number of filter storage positions in each
filter storage may depend on the size of the filter storages and
the size of the filters. In an example embodiment of FIG. 2, the
inner filter storage comprises 14 filter positions and the outer
filter storage comprises 24 filter positions. One of the outer
filter storage positions is a so-called exchange position 260 that
can be used for adding or removing a filter.
[0047] In an embodiment, the first filter storage 210 may by
comprise the excitation filters and the second filter storage 220
may comprise the emission filters. The filter module 100 may
further comprise three or more filter storages placed in a similar
way as described above.
[0048] In an embodiment, the filter transfer mechanism 120 may
comprise a motor 230, a shaft 240 and a filter slide 250 for moving
the filters between the filter storage positions. The motor 230
runs the shaft 240 that causes the filter slide 250 to move
parallel (as shown by the arrow) to the shaft 240 and move the
filters.
[0049] When the user of the apparatus 100 would like to add a new
filter to the storage, the computer controlled system is activated.
First, the user instructs the computer controlled system to trigger
a filter load action. In the filter load action, the outer filter
storage 220 is rotated so that the exchange position 260 is towards
the user and matched to the exchange aperture 150 of the cover
part. A new filter is placed to the exchange position 260 in the
outer filter storage 220 and filter information is inputted to the
computer controlled system by the user. The filter information may
comprise any characteristics information, such as a bandpass
wavelength, for example. After the filter information is inputted
to the system, the filter transfer mechanism 230, 240, 250 and the
rotating filter storages 210, 220 are configured to move the filter
from the exchange position 260 in the outer filter storage 220 to
any free filter position in the inner filter storage 210 or in the
outer filter storage 220, for example. The outer filter storage 220
may be first rotated so that the exchange position 260 coincides
with the filter slide 250 of the filter transfer mechanism. The
rotation of the outer filter storage may be implemented using a
motor 270, a driving wheel 271, running wheels 272 and a belt (not
shown). The driving wheel 271 of the electronic motor 270 drives
the belt around the outer filter storage 220. The belt rotates the
running wheels 272 that drive the filter storage 220. At the same
time, the inner filter storage 210 is rotated so that an empty
filter position coincides with the filter slide 250. The inner
filter storage 210 may be rotated using an electronic motor 280, in
a similar way as for the outer filter storage 220. After the filter
storages are rotated to desired positions, the filter transfer
mechanics may move the filter from the outer filter storage
position to the inner filter storage position. In case the inner
filter storage would have been filled with filters, a filter from
the inner filter storage would have been moved from the inner
storage to the outer storage before adding the new filter to the
system. The computer controlled system takes care that there are
free filter positions in the storage to move filters between the
inner and outer storages for carrying out the needed filter
movements.
[0050] In an embodiment, the computer controlled system stores the
filter information of all the filters to the system database.
Furthermore, the system stores information of the exact filter
storage position of all the filters in the storage. By doing this
the system knows exactly which filter is in which filter storage
position and when the user requests to use a desired filter for the
excitation or the emission the computer controlled system may
operate the apparatus to arrange the desired filter to the
operating position in the filter storage.
[0051] Removal of a filter from the storage is done in a similar
fashion but in reverse order. The removed filter is first moved to
the inner storage 210 and the removed filter is rotated so that the
filter coincides the filter slide 250. The outer filter storage 220
is rotated so that the exchange position 260 also coincides the
filter slide 250. The removed filter is moved from the inner filter
storage 210 to the exchange position 260 of the outer filter
storage 220 and the outer filter storage 220 is rotated so that the
exchange position coincides the exchange aperture 150. The user may
then remove the filter from the aperture and at the same time the
computer controlled system ensures removing the filter from the
active set of filters in the apparatus 100.
[0052] In an embodiment, the user may select the desired filters to
be used for measuring a sample from the computer controlled system
database. The list of the filters may be provided and sorted for
example based on the wavelength of the filters. Any of the filters
in the filter storage may be used for both excitation purposes and
emission purposes and the user does not need to know the exact
position of the filter in the storage. The apparatus moves the user
selected filters to correct positions. After moving the filters,
the selected excitation filter coincides the excitation position in
the excitation channel and the selected emission filter coincides
the emission position in the emission channel. The user may also
define a program of multiple filters to be used sequentially in the
measurement. In such a case, the apparatus organizes the selected
sequential filters in positions next to each other in the filter
storage wheel. This kind of arrangement reduces the time needed for
changing the filters.
[0053] In an embodiment, at least one of the excitation position
and the emission position may be positioned outside the first
filter storage and the second filter storage. A dedicated
excitation/emission position (not shown) may be positioned for
example radially next to the second filter storage 220, on the
opposite side as the first filter storage 210. The filter transfer
mechanism 230, 240, 250 may then move filters radially between the
first filter storage 210, the second filter storage 220 and the
dedicated excitation/emission position.
[0054] In an embodiment, the apparatus may also be configured to
provide different sizes of focal points on the measured samples for
the excitation and the emission lights, for example. The apparatus
may comprise focal apertures of different sizes in the beam channel
for this purpose. The different size apertures may be located in
the inner or the outer filter storages or in the cover part of the
apparatus. The used size of the focal aperture defines the size of
the focal point on the sample. Using smaller size of focal point, a
so-called cross-talk is reduced due the effect on the neighbor
samples on the microtiter plate. A variety of different sizes of
focal apertures may be implemented to the filter storage for
enabling the desired size of the focal point.
[0055] Typically, in fluorescence polarization measurements, a
polarization filter is required. In an embodiment, at least one
filter position of the outer filter storage and at least one filter
position of the inner filter storage comprise fixedly the
polarization filters. These filter positions may be used for the
fluorescence polarization measurements when inserting the desired
excitation and emission filters to those positions. Thus, there is
no need to insert separately a filter combination of the required
wavelength filter and the polarization filter. Such filter storage
positions may be used as normal storage position for any filter
when not using the fluorescence polarization measurement.
[0056] In an embodiment, the filter storages may be placed on top
of each other or beside each other. The filter transfer mechanism
may move the filters between the filter storages in similar fashion
as in inner/outer solution. In another embodiment the filter
storage may comprise filter slides and a filter transfer mechanism
in between for transferring the filters between the storage slide
positions. In still another embodiment, the filter storage may
comprise round-shape filter storage and slide filter storage with a
filter transfer mechanism.
[0057] FIG. 3 shows a schematic picture of a filter module 100 in a
more detailed position for a filter transfer mechanism according to
an example embodiment of the invention. A filter slide 310 may
comprise three fingers 320 for actuating the filters between the
filter storage positions in the inner and the outer storages.
Grooves 330 enabling the filter slide movement are located in both
filter storages and also in the cover part (not shown) of the
apparatus.
[0058] In an embodiment, at least one filter storage position
comprises a focal aperture 340 to define the size of the focal
point for the measured sample. All such filter storage positions
that comprise the focal aperture 340 may be used as an operating
position when positioned to the beam channel. The focal aperture
340 may also be located in the cover part of the apparatus.
[0059] FIG. 4 presents an example block diagram of an apparatus 400
in which various embodiments of the invention may be applied. This
may be a microtiter plate reader, an optical measurement apparatus
or any similar apparatus.
[0060] The general structure of the apparatus 400 comprises a
display 440, a filter module 450 with filter storages and a
transfer mechanism, a communication interface 470, a movement
sensor 480, a processor 410, and a memory 420 coupled to the
processor 410. The apparatus 400 further comprises software 430
stored in the memory 420 and operable to be loaded into and
executed in the processor 410. In some embodiments, the software
430 comprises one or more software modules and can be in the form
of a computer program product. The apparatus 400 may further
comprise a light source 490, a detector 495 and optics 499. The
apparatus 400 may still further comprise a user interface
controller 460 coupled to the processor 410.
[0061] The processor 410 may be, e.g., a central processing unit
(CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a
graphics processing unit, or the like. FIG. 4 shows one processor
410, but in some embodiments the apparatus 400 comprises a
plurality of processors.
[0062] The memory 420 may be for example a non-volatile or a
volatile memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable
read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory
(EPROM), a random-access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a data disk,
an optical storage, a magnetic storage, a smart card, or the like.
In some embodiments, the apparatus 400 comprises a plurality of
memories. The memory 420 may be constructed as a part of the
apparatus 400 or it may be inserted into a slot, port, or the like
of the apparatus 400 by a user. The memory 420 may serve the sole
purpose of storing data, or it may be constructed as a part of an
apparatus serving other purposes, such as processing data.
[0063] The filter module 450 may comprise at least two filter
storages and a filter transfer mechanism that all can be driven and
controlled based on the program code 430 and the processor 410. The
filter module 450 may also comprise dedicated excitation/emission
positions outside the filter storages.
[0064] The movement sensor 480 may be included in the apparatus 400
for sensing the positions of the filter storages and the filter
slide.
[0065] The communication interface module 470 implements at least
part of the data transmission from the apparatus 400 to an external
apparatus or system for various embodiments of the invention. The
communication interface module 470 may be, e.g., a fixed interface
module, such as a LAN, or a radio interface module, such as a WLAN,
Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS, CDMA, WCDMA, or LTE (Long Term Evolution)
radio module. The communication interface module 470 may be
integrated into the apparatus 400 or into an adapter, card or the
like that may be inserted into a suitable slot or port of the
apparatus 400. The communication interface module 470 may support
one radio interface technology or a plurality of technologies. FIG.
4 shows one communication interface module 470, but in some
embodiments the apparatus 400 comprises a plurality of
communication interface modules 470.
[0066] The display 440 may be for example a liquid crystal display
(LCD) or a light-emitting diode (LED) based display. A
touch-sensitive surface may be integrated to the display 440 as a
touch display or a touch screen. The touch-sensitive surface may
also be included as a separate element, for example as a
touchpad.
[0067] The user interface controller 460 comprises circuitry for
receiving input from a user of the apparatus 400, e.g., via a
keyboard, graphical user interface shown on the display 440 of the
apparatus 400, speech recognition circuitry, or an accessory
device, such as a headset, and for providing output to the user
via, e.g., a graphical user interface or a loudspeaker.
[0068] The light source 490 may be a polychromatic light source,
such as a halogen lamp, for example. The optics 499 may comprise at
least one lens that may be positioned between the light source 490
and a filter. The detector 495 may be a photoelectric detector, for
example, converting light into an electrical signal for
processing.
[0069] A skilled person appreciates that in addition to the
elements shown in FIG. 4, in some embodiments the apparatus 400
comprises other elements, such as microphones, extra displays, as
well as additional circuitry such as input/output (I/O) circuitry,
memory chips, application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC),
processing circuitry for specific purposes such as source
coding/decoding circuitry, channel coding/decoding circuitry,
ciphering/deciphering circuitry, and the like. Additionally, the
apparatus 400 comprises a disposable or rechargeable battery (not
shown) for powering the apparatus 400 if external power supply is
not available. Another option is to use a capacitor instead of the
battery for powering the apparatus 400 if external power supply is
not available.
[0070] FIG. 5 shows an example flow chart of a method in accordance
with an example embodiment of the invention. The method begins at
block 501. In block 502, a first set of filter storage positions
are provided in a first filter storage. A second set of filter
storage positions are provided in block 503. In block 504 the
excitation filter and the emission filter are moved between the
excitation position, the emission position, the first set of filter
storage positions and the second set of filter storage positions.
In block 505, an excitation beam is formed. In block 506, the
excitation beam is filtered. In block 507, an emission beam is
filtered. The filtered emission beam is detected in block 508. The
method ends at block 509. The example method presented in the
foregoing is an example only. In other embodiments, different
functions in the method may occur in a mutually different
order.
[0071] Various embodiments have been presented. It should be
appreciated that in this document, words comprise, include and
contain are each used as open-ended expressions with no intended
exclusivity.
[0072] The foregoing description has provided by way of
non-limiting examples of particular implementations and embodiments
of the invention a full and informative description of the best
mode presently contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the
invention. It is however clear to a person skilled in the art that
the invention is not restricted to details of the embodiments
presented above, but that it can be implemented in other
embodiments using equivalent means or in different combinations of
embodiments without deviating from the characteristics of the
invention.
[0073] Furthermore, some of the features of the above-disclosed
embodiments of this invention may be used to advantage without the
corresponding use of other features. As such, the foregoing
description shall be considered as merely illustrative of the
principles of the present invention, and not in limitation thereof.
Hence, the scope of the invention is only restricted by the
appended patent claims.
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